Today’s blog post is a little more special than the usual. I’m sharing my story of how I became a blogger, almost six years ago. This was by no means the path I ever expected to go down. How I wound up here is all thanks in part to many little things that happened along the way. Most of those little “things” occurred shortly before and not long after I started Lone Star Looking Glass.
To thrive in this industry, I’ve discovered one has to have very thick skin. Putting yourself out there in both words and images takes quite the leap of faith. One thing I have never admitted on here before, but I’ve told many close friends and family, is that I 100% would have never started this blog & followed through had I not moved from Tennessee to Houston, Texas. Today, I’m sharing my story with Olay in the hopes to encourage other women to rise above anything that may come your way and to not let anyone or anything inhibit your hopes and dreams for yourself too.
Head on down for my story below …
It All Started Out in Tennessee.
I would say the essence of blogging career truly began in late October 2013. I was just promoted from Associate Producer to Producer at a television production company in Knoxville, Tennessee.
I knew I wanted to work in some capacity of the film industry my entire life and getting to live this dream of mine so soon after college was surreal. I secured a great internship my senior year and was offered a dream job with the company as soon as my internship ended, just a week or two before graduation. I honestly think I didn’t realize how HUGE this all was and maybe even took it for granted somewhat because it all happened so quickly.
Fast forward to three and a half years with the company, I was fresh off of my very first solo production shoot for DIY Network. I was feeling pretty much on cloud 9 around that time. It was a huge step in my career and I was also a newlywed! Living in this amazing downtown loft with Patrick surrounded by SO many friends. We had it made! All we did was go out on the weekends, travel to visit college buddies and an Anthropologie had finallllly opened a boutique Knoxville. Oh man you know I was excited about that!!
I got a text that morning from Patrick that said, “What do you think about Houston?” I had no idea it would completely change the course of my life forever.
And then we moved to Texas!
I was sitting in the edit bay, working on a show with one of my co-workers (who is still one of my besties!) and I read the text aloud to her. “Houston, what?!?!” She shrieked! But I remember initially feeling excited. What does this mean? What is he talking about? I knew Patrick had some interest in possibly applying for a job down there … did he already do it and get the interview!? What’s happening!?
We chatted at lunch and Patrick had secured the interview and was flying down what felt like the next day. Things happened pretty fast from that point on. We found out very soon after that he did get the job and it was such a great opportunity for us. I’m the type of person that is always up for a new adventure. So I was ALL for this move even though things were going so great in Tennessee. Why couldn’t things be just as great in Texas too?
Patrick was to start his new position in just two weeks so we had to quickly pack our bags and head on down to the lone star state. I hardly had any time at all to look into what I would possibly do in Houston with my career. This all happened so so fast. But I remember thinking, “Hey, 4th largest city in the country? There HAS to be a big bustling film industry there. There HAS to be multiple companies with the same vibe as to what I’m doing here.” I trusted that and told myself I would look into applying for jobs as soon as we got down there.
And to My Shock … I Couldn’t Find a Job.
I quickly found out that any open position which was remotely similar to what I was doing in Tennessee was housed three short hours away in Austin. Now that I live in/know Texas, it makes perfect sense that many of the creative film production companies would situate themselves in Austin, right? My bubble was certainly burst and I remember feeling at a complete loss of what to do.
As the weeks went on, I scoured and searched and applied left and right to anything and everything that could have possibly fit my communications, journalism and television production background here in Houston. My identity was completely wrapped around working as a television producer. I remember feeling so proud of myself when I would tell people what I did.
I began pouring myself into fixing up our house, discovering new things to do in Houston and even got a side-gig at Anthropologie (who’s surprised!) all the while I tried to find a fulfilling job that left me as proud as I had been before.
I’ll Never Forget My Darkest Moment.
About two months or so into our move, jobs still weren’t biting and I was so confused as to what I was doing wrong. I had thought I had a very impressive resume and I think I even felt overly confident about my credentials too. I remember sitting one afternoon all alone on the floor in the hallway of our little yellow house and breaking down into tears. Like serious sobbing heaving tears. I was at an all-time low and I think I really needed a good ol’ cry that day to realize it.
I cried because I was experiencing change and I didn’t know how to push through it yet. I cried because I felt like I was losing my identity and I didn’t realize that one could be so much more than their career. I cried because I didn’t know what to do next.
And then I Started my Blog.
Patrick was the most supportive husband imaginable through all of this! He really was. He encouraged any and all of the hobbies I started to pick up during this time. (One day he even came home from work to a poorly painted watercolor of our golden retriever.) When I told him I wanted to finally start a blog and do it for real, he was even more encouraging and helped me brainstorm names for it.
Truth be told, I wanted to start a blog six years before I even started mine officially. I registered AlicesAdventures.com my junior year of college and did an entire blog post on pencil skirts. What I’d give to be able to read that post today! But I was in college, and the thought of taking a picture of my outfit and posting it on the internet, like what other bloggers had just started doing at the time, intimidated me like no other.
I didn’t realize it until I had moved, but looking back I think I was TERRIFIED of putting myself out there when we were back in Tennessee. Knoxville was a small-ish town. I was absolutely petrified of the thought of taking a picture of whatever I was wearing that day on the street and having someone from college, work, or my sorority possibly see me “model.” Because I certainly didn’t/don’t think of myself as a “model” by any means. I just like clothes, y’all!
Moving to a New City Took Away My Fears.
I 100% feel if I stayed put on the path I was on in Tennessee, I would have never started this blog. I think I was too afraid of what other people would think of me to take the plunge. I thought my peers would think I was silly, ridiculous, vain, the list goes on and on and on. That on top of getting caught up in the fast pace life I was living in Knoxville, I just can’t imagine I would have truly ever done it.
It took being someplace new, where I didn’t know a soul, gave me a sense of fearlessness. With my new anonymity, I didn’t have to face friends, acquaintances or co-workers on a daily basis so I didn’t have to see anyone’s reaction in person to this crazy leap I made into the internet. It also took a series of rejection from countless job postings to realize that life wasn’t as simple or easy as I had thought it to be and this is what ultimately changed everything for me. I wasn’t going to let simple fears keep me from doing what I wanted to most.
I then registered my domain name and my first blog post was about Mexican food and margaritas. It could not get any purer than that! 😉
How Houston + Blogging Changed the Shape of My Life.
When the realization hit I was in a new place and the world was entirely my oyster, the fears of what others thought of me had slowly started to drip away. I was no longer wrapped up in the idea that my career was my identity because I could be whoever I wanted to be. It was time to try somethingnew and I was so excited! I even opted for a fresh change to my locks. (Isn’t that what every girl seems to impulsively do in times of big change?!) In Tennessee, I wore my hair straight with a part on the side. Soon after moving to Houston, I became a “middle-part girl” and from then on wore my hair curly. Things we’re cha-cha-changing on the inside and out.
And with that, I published more and more blog posts featuring different outfits, what we were up to in Houston, basically inviting others into my life in the hopes that they enjoyed what they saw and wanted to stick around.
I also found a job at a local production company! The company produced corporate training videos mostly … and they didn’t let me in on any action whatsoever, which was a hard pill to swallow. Mostly I booked shoots and rented out equipment from the computer at my desk. But this position gave me more time to pour into this new blog of mine. I even discovered, through blogging, that I might have a knack for marketing after all.
Six months later, I began working in an entry-level position at a boutique marketing firm. I basically restarted my career from the ground up but I was so excited about it! I had come a long way mentally at this point compared to who I was when my career was my identity.
My new marketing position required me to heavily work with bloggers on the PR side. I learned the ins & outs of the industry and was also completely FLABBERGASTED that PR firms sent bloggers product and even paid bloggers to create content for them. I began to implement these tactics on Lone Star Looking Glass and couldn’t believe the opportunities that were coming my way. (At the time it was like, we will give you this tank top with an ice cream cone picture on it if you’ll write about our brand … and I was like “Omg this is the coolest thing ever yes!!!”)
My new career path led me to marketing positions at some amazing places to follow and I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunities that did eventually come my way. The greatest opportunity of all was to take Lone Star Looking Glass full-time right around the time Annie was born. I want to pinch myself every day because I am so thankful that I’m able to work my dream job while also being home with my daughter. It definitely took some darker days during the big transition to get me to this point. And the feeling of being someplace brand new helped me to mentally overcome any inhibitions to really let loose on my creative side and just do it!
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All in all, I hope that my story helps to inspire YOU! Whether it is to overcome your fears and actually create that blog of yours or to realize it’s okay to let go of the opinion you had for yourself because who knows, something better may be on the horizon too. Houston brought with it new opportunities, wonderful friends and a new sense of self-discovery. So thank you, H-town, for welcoming me with open arms and changing the course of my life!
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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Olay. The opinions and text are all mine.
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photos by Ban Avenue
